Hanoi (VNA) - Urban citizens, especially children, are being exposed tohigher risks of respiratory diseases as air pollution worsens, experts havesaid.

Anational environmental report about to be published by the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment (MONRE) shows that the amount of nitrogen oxide (NO2), ozone (O3)and carbon monoxide (CO) in the atmosphere have been increasing inurban cities due to traffic, construction and industrial activities, TienPhong (Vanguard) newspaper reported.

Accordingto medical studies, high concentrations of NO2 can causeinjuries to the lung mucosa and increase risks of respiratory diseases, O3 candamage airways and cause inflammation of the cells and CO can reduce oxygentransport in the body which can lead to hypoxemia.

Theamount of NO2 and CO tends to increase during peak hours inareas where traffic congestion occurs, and near industrial parks in urbanareas, according to the report.

Theamount of O3 was found to be higher than permitted levels inall three northern, central and southern regions, especially during hot days,from 12pm to 3pm, Nguyen Van Thuy, director of MONRE’s Centre for EnvironmentalMonitoring (CEM), said at a recent conference.

Dustpollution is also severe. The amount of dust was higher than national permittedlevels in some 80 percent of air samples in recent national environmentobserving programmes, according to reports.

Dustpollution is a major problem in urban air pollution since dust accumulation cancause bone marrow disorders, joint pain, kidney inflammation, high bloodpressure, cerebral palsy and respiratory diseases, according to Thuy.

Anindependent report from the Green Innovation and Development Centre shows thatduring the first three months of this year, there were 38 days in Hanoi and Ho ChiMinh City when the amount of particulate matters smaller than 2.5µm (as known as PM2.5, which is acidicand harmful to human health) was higher than permitted levels from the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO).

The number of patients receiving treatment at hospitals forrespiratory diseases has been on the rise in recent years, and currentlyaccounts for about 3-4 percent of the total population, according to thenational environment report.

While the number of children admitted to the HCM CityChildren’s Hospital 2 for parasitic diseases and infections decreases, thenumber of those with respiratory diseases has hiked up, averaging 40-50 percentof total inpatients, it said.

In Hanoi, the average cost of medicalexamination and treatment and medicines for patients with respiratory diseasesis 1,500 VND (6.6 cents) per person per day. With some 3.5 million citizens inthe inner city, the total economic loss due to respiratory diseases in thecapital city is estimated to be some 2 trillion VND (88 million USD) per year,according to the report.

Thereport also shows that noise levels on major traffic routes often exceed thenational permitted level from 6am to 9pm. Noise levels recorded by CEM in 14monitoring locations in different cities were also higher than permitted.

Notonly in areas with high traffic density, noise pollution was also detected nearconstruction sites, and in urban areas where karaoke bars and other types ofservice businesses use loudspeakers to attract customers.

DoctorHoang Van The, head of the Occupational Disease Department at theRehabilitation Hospital – Occupational Disease Treatment Hospital in HCM City,said that noise pollution weakens humans’ natural reflex with sounds, damagingthe auditory and nerve systems, and indirectly causing heart-related diseases.

Long-termexposure to excessive noise can damage the inner ear, causing the auditorynerve to shrivel up and harm mental health, he said.

Whilewaiting for a national scheme limiting motorbikes in the inner city in 2030 totake effect, air quality in Hanoi can only be improved with supportingsolutions such as planting more trees, creating more detention basins andmechanising environmental sanitation, according to Nguyen Trong Dong, directorof the city’s environment department.

Thecity has compiled a list of 117 factories and production units that cause environmentalpollution in the five districts of Hai Ba Trung, Dong Da, Ba Dinh, Thanh Xuanand Ha Dong to be relocated, he said at a recent conference on air qualitymanagement in the capital city.

Noisepollution is hard to tackle since service businesses turned down the volume inthe presence of patrol officers, and turned it back up when they left, TienPhong reported.

High-levelinspectors only examine and handle major noise violations that affect manypeople, with smaller violations assigned to lower-level environmental officesin localities, an official from the HCM City environmental protectiondepartment was quoted by the newspaper as saying.-VNA